The “glory bowl” dressing in this recipe–nooch, apple cider vinegar, tamari, and more–is enough to set my mouth watering. But Shira adds to that a bounty of farmer’s market produce. The resulting salad is gorgeous.

There are, of course, reasons to avoid excess coffee. It can make people jittery, more anxious; if you have GERD or certain other gastric complaints, it can exacerbate them. If you have IBS or other digestive ailments, coffee can contribute to cramping or irregularity. We know our own bodies best, and if coffee doesn’t seem to work for you, then I don’t think that these new findings are cause for picking up the habit. But they certainly strengthen the case that research has been building for a while now, which is that coffee does not deserve its reputation as a vice. Research is also suggesting that there are beneficial compounds in coffee that have nothing to do with its caffeine content (decaf coffee had nearly as high a protective correlation against Type II diabetes as regular).

In short, if you love the stuff, drink up.

2. Love this article from The Guardian about meat substitutes. At least once a month, a foodie friend or acquaintance will ask me, “how do you feel about meat substitutes?” Sometimes the question is laced with a hint of disdain, perhaps stemming for the current craze for “clean food” and abhorrence for anything “processed” (a set of categorizations that I have mixed feelings about to say the least).

I think meat substitutes are fantastic. As someone who enjoys the challenge of whipping up, say, a lentil and sweet potato loaf, or raw “taco meat,” I’m usually quicker to create a meat substitute of my own than to purchase one. But in these busy days, my boyfriend and I usually have either Beyond Meat or Field Roast in our fridge; you may recently have spotted the orecchiette with Field Roast that I posted on Instagram! I address meat substitutes in my book, too, pointing out that:

a) The point of meat substitutes isn’t really to serve as health food, so criticisms of their putative healthfulness feel a little misplaced; the point is to spare animal lives and to lessen environmental impact, not bestow longevity or glow

and

b) That said, meat substitutes have evolved with the times, and many of them now do boast healthful ingredient lists, which means that they’re both a wonderful vehicle for dietary change, and a source of solid nutrition.

The author of the Guardian article is similarly enthusiastic, and she cites a lot of data about how meat substitutes can help the environment and animals. She also notes that these products are not only for vegans these days:

“Vegetarian since the age of 15 and vegan for about half that time, in the past I felt if you’d already made the choice to ditch meat, you might as well ditch food products that resembled meat too. Why turn vegetarian only to purchase foods that require more processing, packaging and in some cases, more transportation than the likes of nuts, grains, pulses and eggs.

I’d missed the point. Meat substitute companies aren’t just aiming their products at vegetarians and vegans – who make up less than 3% (pdf) of the UK population – but also at meat consumers, a much bigger potential market.

It appears they are succeeding. In a study carried out by global market research company Mintel, of the 36% of Americans purchasing meat alternatives only 7% identified as vegetarians.”

I think this is great, more evidence that more folks who aren’t necessarily vegan or vegetarian are nevertheless willing to explore plant-based food.

And to the author’s point about missing the point, I’d also add that of course meat substitutes do require more processing and packaging and transportation than good ‘ole beans and grains. Part of the reason that this isn’t the point is that they serve a vital purpose in helping to create familiarity in vegan cuisine, whether for new vegans, dabblers, or veterans. And this is great news for foodies who retain their attachment to old favorites. Sometimes a few strips of Beyond Meat do what beans can’t, and a mouthful of melty Daiya succeeds where cashew cheese fails. I say three cheers for all of these brands and the work they do!

3. Another Atlantic article, this one on telemedicine (services like HealthTap, where doctors answer questions online for free). Interesting stuff; I can see how this might be both helpful and also tricky, because only so much can be diagnosed online. Still, a cool idea as a resource.

4. A lovely article, conveyed through a series of interviews with food writers and chefs, about recipe development. If you’re as interested in language, writing, and communication as you are in recipes, this one’s for you. I love what Judith Jones had to say:

“…[W]hat IS a simmer, after all?” Jones wondered. “You can’t have an adjunct book that you turn to. It’s all got to be there. I think one thing that’s extremely important is language, that you use language that really conveys what you’re doing.” And for the professional chef, she wishes that they would regress to their student days, putting aside the blind instinct instilled by years of repetition and, in a sense, learning anew with a reader. What IS a simmer? “I think you have to observe very, very closely what you do, and then write it all out, and try to think of those images that we all know. They can be quite original, too. It is what makes writing lively!”

Indeed.

5. So, full disclosure. I’m not really a fan of calling anything “the new bacon,” and I also sometimes find it a little snooty when restauranteurs who are sharing vegan cuisine overemphasize the fact that their focus is on vegetables (as if to say “unlike all of that other vegan food that’s full of fake stuff”). But even so, it is tremendously important to present vegan food not as an array of similacrums, but rather as a vibrant cuisine with its own proteins. And on that note, I was interested to see this WaPo article about how Jose Andres (a D.C. chef known for his flair with Spanish food) will be starting up a new, veg-centric chain of fast-casual eateries. The first will be named Beefsteak — after the tomato, of course. Good stuff.

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10 Responses to "Weekend Reading, 10.26.14"

I love all of these salads! After this weekend I need these! The Turmeric Mushroom salad is so beautiful I can’t get over it! I love weekend reading, I always find a new blogs to read! Thanks for doing these:)

Hi Gena, that salad really does look good! I have lots of greens that I put in smoothies, but I’m always afraid to add them to meals to be eaten just like that. A few days ago, I munched on a leaf before blending my smoothie, and spent a good while trying to pretend that that had not just happened! Now I see that I need some kind of dressing, like the amazing ones here, to make it enjoyable. Thanks for the readings, as always! 🙂

I too can get annoyed with the dialogue about meat substitutes. Strictly speaking, if we’re talking about “real” food, how real is our milk and cheese and meat nowadays (given how most is produced with use of massive amounts of antibiotics and cheap food)?

But, as you said, much of that is beside the point. I’ve noticed that meat substitutes tend to be a “gateway” for people into less processed plant-based eating. My husband now would choose cashew cheese over Daiya more often than not. Nothing against these products–as you said, they’re great on occasion!–but if they become a once-in-a-while rather than every-meal thing, I think it’s a win on all sides: reasonable for the environment, our health, and the companies. So often the debate lacks nuance: one side is talking about eating pounds and pounds of substitute each day, the other, absolute no processed food.

Great post! I am so with you on the whole ‘clean eating’ and ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food being a discussion that needs to be over. When I first became vegetarian over 20 years ago I didn’t eat fake meat products because they reminded me too much of the real thing. Then I went though a phase of eating them quite a lot. Now I don’t so often because they don’t fit into my personal nutrition paradigm of ‘real’ food, but when I do eat them it’s as a treat, eaten mindfully. I especially live veggie pizza pepperoni, and I figure if I was eating real pepperoni it would be pretty darn processed too, so what’s the big deal?